In a crowded apartment in Novosibirsk, Russia, Samat Beibitzhanov and family from all across Russia and Kazakhstan sat crowded around a single phone on a table in the living room. Despite the amount of people in such a small space, the room was dead silent. Suddenly, the silence was broken by the sound of the ringing telephone. Samat slowly picked up the phone and listened, only saying one word, “yes.” Immediately after he hung up the phone, he went and hugged his parents as the room erupted in celebration.
Born in Karaganda, Kazakhstan to a working class family, Samat’s family, including his two brothers and one sister emigrated to Russia, moving to Novosibirsk when Samat, the middle brother, was three. All three brothers played hockey throughout their teenage years, but only Samat proved to have the talent and drive to continue playing, attracting the attention of scouts from around Russia and the world.
Samat’s older brother Kula is currently serving in the army, while his younger brother and sister are working towards a university education. “A big part of hockey for me is that it allows me to support my family back home,” Samat said. “If I didn’t think I could do this to support my family, I wouldn’t have joined the league.”
“His personality is certainly ready for the professional leagues,” said his former coach Azamat Bagatov. “He’s not necessarily a leader per se, but people definitely notice him when he enters a room. He’s still pretty raw but I definitely see the potential in him.” Samat is slightly undersized for a goalie, at 5’11”, but he has developed his physical abilities to compensate. “I’ve never worked with a goalie who was such an athlete,” Bagatov added.
Samat is known around his team for his foul language and candid opinions. When asked why he chose to dedicate himself so much to hockey, Samat said “To start I just really liked hitting people. As I grew up I realized that my reflexes are more suited to being a goalie.” Samat is still willing to drop the gloves despite being goaltender, getting in 5 fights last season in a junior league in Russia, including two with the same opponent. “I put that [expletive] to the ground both times,” he said, adding that “at least I gave the backup some reps.” Oftentimes, covering the puck in the crease will be met with a tirade of cursing. If a puck goes into the net on a strange bounce, Beibitzhanov will scream obscenities at it and either throw or hit it across the ice. In his last season in Russia, he finished 64th overall in penalty minutes among all players.
In addition, Beibitzhanov is intensely superstitious. He wears the same fur hat to every single game, and insists on keeping his locker meticulously organized. When we went into the locker room before a game, Beibitzhanov said “If you touch my stuff I will rip your [expletive] guts out.” When asked why he had so many superstitions, Beibitzhanov said “It helps me to relax and get in the game mindset. When we were 12, coach would often have us goalies smoke between periods to calm our nerves. I realized that was unhealthy, and it made my jersey smell bad. So I only smoke before games now. It’s bad for you but who cares, I don’t want to be an old cripple anyway.”
Beibitzhanov was drafted 20th overall by the Colorado Raptors, who Beibitzhanov had been in talks with before the draft. "I expected to go much later, so I thank Colorado for taking a chance with me. I will make it look like robbery that I was picked at 20."
“I honestly could care less about the future, what matters is what I do now,” said Beibitzhanov when asked about what he thinks his time in the SMJHL and SHL will bring. “At least I hear Colorado is nice and cold, I hate when it is hot.” I have never left Russia and Kazakhstan so I am very excited to see what America is like. The team has been very kind so far and I am already learning a lot from more experienced players. I am very frustrated I will not be able to fight like I used to though."
11-18-2019, 05:21 AMDuff101 Wrote: In addition, Beibitzhanov is intensely superstitious. He wears the same fur hat to every single game, and insists on keeping his locker meticulously organized.
Duff101
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